The golden age of toy development was at the turn of the 20th century. Real wages were rising steadily in the Western world, allowing even working-class families to afford toys for their children, and industrial techniques of precision engineering and mass production was able to provide the supply to meet this rising demand. Intellectual emphasis was also increasingly being placed on the importance of a wholesome and happy childhood for the future development of children. William Harbutt, an English painter, invented plasticine in 1897, and in 1900 commercial production of the material as a children's toy began. Frank Hornby was a visionary in toy development and manufacture and was responsible for the invention and production of three of the most popular lines of toys based on engineering principles in the twentieth century: Meccano, Hornby Model Railways and Dinky Toys.
Pretend play is an essential part of a well-rounded childhood, helping kids develop intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally. By the age of three, your children will naturally begin to engage in pretend play, and you can ensure this activity is safe and rewarding by providing them with a good selection of age-appropriate toys. Make-believe must-haves include toy kitchens and play workshops, costumes, musical instruments and active toys like blasters and water guns. As your kids spend more time and energy in pretend worlds, their understanding of the real world will grow, and the skills they acquire will benefit them for a lifetime.
Shopping at Gifts.com for online gifts makes it easy to stay in budget. Simply select from our price-sorted category pages and secure the best birthday gifts for an even better price. The perfect gifts cater to individual interests, so we offer a variety of personalized gifts that you can customize to express heartfelt sentiments at any time of the year. Let them know how special they are to you by inscribing their name on their favorite hobby item; from golf balls printed with your anniversary date to custom throws depicting the faces of your family, there are so many wonderful gift ideas that you may find it hard to settle on just one.
On the go gadgets - Stay in touch and organized on the road with their collection of automotive and travel gadgets for men and women. Choose useful electronic gifts like emergency phone chargers, practical auto accessories like custom-fit cargo bed liners, or timesaving travel gadgets for easier packing, faster security checks, or more comfortable hotel stays.
Outdoor ideas - Enjoy your time in the wilderness with Herrington's collection of outdoor tools, safety gear and emergency supplies. Choose solar powered lights, emergency radios, on-the-go chargers for your cell phone or handy water purifier gadgets to stay safe and in touch in any conditions. Read in bright sun without squinting with polarized magnifying sunglasses featuring built-in magnifying readers.
A distinction is often made between dolls and action figures, which are generally of plastic or semi-metallic construction and poseable to some extent, and often are merchandising from television shows or films which feature the characters. Modern action figures, such as Action Man, are often marketed towards boys, whereas dolls are often marketed towards girls.
Certain toys, such as Barbie dolls and toy soldiers, are often perceived as being more acceptable for one gender than the other. The turning point for the addition of gender to toys came about in the 1960s and 1970s. Before 1975, only about two percent of toys were labeled by gender, whereas today on the Disney store's website, considered a dominating global force for toys by researcher Claire Miller, all toys are labeled by gender.[26] The journal Sex Roles began publishing research on this topic in 1975, focusing on the effects of gender in youth. Too, many psychological textbooks began to address this new issue. Along with these publications, researchers also started to challenge the ideas of male and female as being opposites, even going as far as to claim toys which have characteristics of both gender are preferable.[27]

Your body's pretty good at letting you know it needs a massage—if only it could also tell you what type of massage it would most benefit from. If you're new to massage or have never ventured past your normal Swedish session, it might be confusing to navigate all the different types of massage out there. Luckily, we're here to help you decipher the many different styles and benefits of massage so you can book the one that's best for you.

Special occasions are a doddle with our gift ideas for her. Delight super-organised friend with pretty stationery and treat fashion-forward mums and sisters to a luxurious handbag from their favourite designer. Perfumed candles or diffusers are great for those who like to stay home or who have just moved into a new home. Looking to treat the both of you? Whisk her off on a camping adventure or enjoy tea for two with our experience day gifts.

Puzzles became greatly fashionable as well. In 1893, the English lawyer Angelo John Lewis, writing under the pseudonym of Professor Hoffman, wrote a book called Puzzles Old and New.[13] It contained, amongst other things, more than 40 descriptions of puzzles with secret opening mechanisms. This book grew into a reference work for puzzle games and was very popular at the time. The Tangram puzzle, originally from China, spread to Europe and America in the 19th century.
Ontario Presents is a province-wide network of performing arts touring and presenting organizations that work collaboratively to facilitate the distribution of live, performing arts shows – and their engagement with citizens – into communities across Ontario. The organization was incorporated as a not-for-profit network of performing arts venues in 1988 and has grown over the years to be an effective champion for the practice of performing arts presentation and community engagement. Its members include municipal performing arts centres; not-for-profit, volunteer, community presenters; touring artists/arts organizations, artists’ agents, and industry service consultants.

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Meccano was a model construction system that consisted of re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces and enabled the building of working models and mechanical devices. Dinky Toys pioneered the manufacture of die-cast toys with the production of toy cars, trains and ships and model train sets became popular in the 1920s. The Britain's company revolutionized the production of toy soldiers with the invention of the process of hollow casting in lead in 1893[12] – the company's products remained the industry standard for many years.
Another study done by Jeffrey Trawick-Smith took 60 different children ages three to four and observed them playing with nine different toys deemed best for development. They were allowed to play with the toys in a typical environment, a preschool classroom, which allowed for the results to be more authentic compared to research done in a lab. The researchers then quantified play quality of the children with each toy based on factors such as learning, problem solving, curiosity, creativity, imagination, and peer interaction. The results revealed that boys generally received higher scores for overall play quality than girls, and the toys with the best play quality were those identified as the most gender neutral, such as building blocks and bricks along with pieces modeling people. Trawick-Smith then concluded that the study encourages a focus on toys which are beneficial to both genders in order to create a better balance.[32]

In the nineteenth century, the emphasis was put on toys that had an educational purpose to them, such as puzzles, books, cards and board games. Religiously themed toys were also popular, including a model Noah's Ark with miniature animals and objects from other Bible scenes. With growing prosperity among the middle class, children had more leisure time on their hands, which led to the application of industrial methods to the manufacture of toys.[9]
Children have played with miniature versions of vehicles since ancient times, with toy two-wheeled carts being depicted on ancient Greek vases.[47] Wind-up toys have also played a part in the advancement of toy vehicles. Modern equivalents include toy cars such as those produced by Matchbox or Hot Wheels, miniature aircraft, toy boats, military vehicles, and trains. Examples of the latter range from wooden sets for younger children such as BRIO to more complicated realistic train models like those produced by Lionel, Doepke and Hornby. Larger die-cast vehicles, 1:18 scale, have become popular toys; these vehicles are produced with a great attention to detail.[citation needed]
Toy companies change and adapt their toys to meet the changing demands of children thereby gaining a larger share of the substantial market. In recent years many toys have become more complicated with flashing lights and sounds in an effort to appeal to children raised around television and the internet. According to Mattel's president, Neil Friedman, "Innovation is key in the toy industry and to succeed one must create a 'wow' moment for kids by designing toys that have fun, innovative features and include new technologies and engaging content."
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These views, grounded as they are on the perfectly well-ascertained occurrence of a former Glacial period, seem to me to explain in so satisfactory a manner the present distribution of the Alpine and Arctic productions of Europe and America, that when in other regions we find the same species on distant mountain-summits, we may almost conclude without other evidence, that a colder climate permitted their former migration across the low intervening tracts, since become too warm for their existence.
When toys have been outgrown or are no longer wanted, reuse is sometimes considered[citation needed]. They can be donated via many charities such as Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army, sold at garage sales, auctioned, sometimes even donated to museums. However, when toys are broken, worn out or otherwise unfit for use, care should be taken when disposing of them. Donated or resold toys should be gently used, clean and have all parts.[52] Before disposal of any battery-operated toy, batteries should be removed and recycled; some communities demand this be done. Some manufacturers, such as Little Tikes, will take back and recycle their products.
ThinkGeek's Gift Center has creative ideas for every occasion for all of your friends and family members. Whether you're searching for a unique gift you won't see at your local big box store for the Star Wars-lover in your life or just something fun and geeky for under $20, you can find everything you need (and a lot of stuff you don't) in our Gift Center. And if you don't find just the perfect thing, you can fall back on our Gift Cards and Wish Lists for the pickiest people on your list (you know who you are).
A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free. In many countries, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc. may sustain social relations and contribute to social cohesion. Economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy. By extension the term gift can refer to any item or act of service that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness and kindness. Gifts are also first and foremost presented on occasions such as birthdays and holidays.
He presented the queen with a diamond necklace. He was presented with a medal at the ceremony. She presented a check for $5,000 to the charity. The scientist presented his results to the committee. She will be presenting a paper on methods for teaching ESL at the conference. What time will you be presenting? An offer was presented for our consideration. The Main Street Theater Company is presenting Shakespeare's Othello next month. The museum is presenting an exhibition of paintings by Monet.
On the go gadgets - Stay in touch and organized on the road with their collection of automotive and travel gadgets for men and women. Choose useful electronic gifts like emergency phone chargers, practical auto accessories like custom-fit cargo bed liners, or timesaving travel gadgets for easier packing, faster security checks, or more comfortable hotel stays.
Looking for a fantastic anniversary gift? Whether you’re celebrating your first anniversary or toasting to 50 years with your one true love, Gifts.com offers heartfelt anniversary gifts your special someone will adore. From custom home décor to sentimental keepsakes he or she will treasure, our personalized anniversary gifts are sure to help you express your love.
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One of the simplest toys, a set of simple wooden blocks is also one of the best toys for developing minds.[citation needed] Andrew Witkin, director of marketing for Mega Brands told Investor's Business Daily that, "They help develop hand-eye coordination, math and science skills and also let kids be creative."[20] Other toys like marbles, jackstones, and balls serve similar functions in child development, allowing children to use their minds and bodies to learn about spatial relationships, cause and effect, and a wide range of other skills.
Toy companies change and adapt their toys to meet the changing demands of children thereby gaining a larger share of the substantial market. In recent years many toys have become more complicated with flashing lights and sounds in an effort to appeal to children raised around television and the internet. According to Mattel's president, Neil Friedman, "Innovation is key in the toy industry and to succeed one must create a 'wow' moment for kids by designing toys that have fun, innovative features and include new technologies and engaging content."
Dolls and action figures change with time but are still appreciated by kids everywhere. Your choices range from baby dolls to Barbie dolls to Star Wars action figures. If you want to buy an action figure or doll for a child but aren’t sure which one, find out if the child has any favorite movies or TV shows. Often, you can find toys that coordinate with popular kids’ programming.

"Age compression" is a toy industry term that describes the modern trend of children moving through play stages faster than they did in the past. Children have a desire to progress to more complex toys at a faster pace, girls in particular. Barbie dolls, for example, were once marketed to girls around 8 years old but have been found to be more popular in recent years with girls around 3 years old.[23] The packaging for the dolls labels them appropriate for ages 3 and up. Boys, in contrast, apparently enjoy toys and games over a longer timespan, gravitating towards toys that meet their interest in assembling and disassembling mechanical toys, and toys that "move fast and things that fight". An industry executive points out that girls have entered the "tween" phase by the time they are 8 years old and want non-traditional toys, whereas boys have been maintaining an interest in traditional toys until they are 12 years old, meaning the traditional toy industry holds onto their boy customers for 50% longer than their girl customers.[23]

Think back to your childhood. What do you remember? Probably how much fun you used to have playing with toys, right? What was your favourite toy? Perhaps you loved action figures, dolls, games & puzzles, or building sets & blocks. Toys make childhood memorable, but they are also a vital part of any child’s development. Walmart.ca is your one-stop-shop for the top toys for kids, all at everyday low prices. Shop for kids toys online and give your child toys that will make their childhood a blast!